1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card processor receiving a card and carrying out predetermined processes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Card processors mounted on cash automatic teller machines (hereinafter, referred to as “ATM”), or the like, of a bank include the one, which is connected to a host system, such as ATM, through a predetermined interface, and carries out predetermined processes concerning a card in response to instructions from the host system, and discharges the card to the outside upon completion of the predetermined processes. In case of such a card processor, a user inserts a card to a relevant card processor in accordance with the guidance which a host system displays on a display unit, and the user will stands by in front of the host system until the predetermined processes are completed and the card is returned from the card processor.
Moreover, card processors connected to a host system and carrying out processes in response to instructions from the host system include the one, which discharges a card existing in the inside to the outside and returns in case that abnormalities occurred in the communication line to the host system and there is no communication from the host system for a certain period of time, or in case that the host system ran away for some reasons and there is no processing instruction with respect to the card for a certain period of time, the processing instruction being based on instructions from the host system (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model No. 2526916 and Japanese Patent No. 3175956).
On the other hand, host systems connected to a card processor and sending instructions to the card processor include the one, which instructs the card processor to take a card to the inside if the card is still held at the return area in a certain period of time after instructing the card processor to return the card to the return area, (see JP-A-7-334588).